The Texas Longhorns headed in halftime of Saturday’s matchup against the Arkansas Razorbacks in Fayetteville with a 10-0 lead after fighting off a sluggish start offensively thanks to some continued strong play by the defense.

Jahdae Barron’s four interception of the year in the first quarter set Texas up for a 20-yard touchdown grab from receiver Matthew Golden before Bert Auburn added a 39-yard field goal two drives later.. Aside from the turnover, the Longhorns forced five punts on the rest of Arkansas’ drives. Barron finished the first half with the four total tackles, a sack, two tackles for loss and the interception.

Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers faced heavy pressure often in the pocket and was sacked twice. He missed a few routine throws and nearly had his first pass intercepted, but the ball tipped into the hands of Isaiah Bond for a 17-yard gain.

Despite an up-and-down start, Ewers finished the first half 15 of 23 passing for 100 yards, one touchdown and no picks. His score to Golden came as a result of a bust in the Arkansas’ secondary. The Houston transfer has now caught seven touchdowns this season. However, it was Silas Bolden that led the Longhorns in receiving at halftime with three catches for 33 yards and one punt return for 12 yards.

The Razorbacks got nothing going on offense, as Texas got one sack each from Trey Moore, Colin Simmons, Barron and Alfred Collins.

Looking to get back into scoring position ahead of the two-minute timeout, back-to-back catches for loss by Wisner and Blue set Texas way out Auburn’s range. The Longhorns forced a quick three-and-out but Ewers was sacked on third down once again.

Arkansas will receive the second half kickoff.

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FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — History suggests Texas has been the recipient of brand bias over the years no matter its conference affiliation.

The Longhorns previously had their own television network and are consistently talked about on major sports networks whether good or bad. Texas’ brand brings views and there’s no denying that.

Now in the SEC, the newcomers were given a forgiving schedule for the Longhorns’ inaugural season. With the entrance of Texas and Oklahoma, the league mixed up its philosophy on building schedules based off member performances over the past decade.

Of course, Oklahoma had been dominant in the Big 12 with seven 10+ win seasons and four playoff appearances. The Sooners’ success from 2015-21 was gifted five ranked opponents including road games against Ole Miss, Auburn, Missouri and LSU while also playing Tennessee and Alabama.

Despite a singular playoff appearance last season and four losing seasons, the Longhorns benefitted from their struggles and in return received a much easier path to another deep postseason run. Texas has played five ranked opponents, but road games were rather winnable at Arkansas, Vanderbilt and Texas A&M.

According to Arkansas coach Sam Pittman, that fact still shouldn’t diminish a successful run despite the slate of games assigned. The Longhorns are a good team with a great coach whose roster is littered with potential NFL prospects who are in line to help Texas compete for its first national championship since the 2006 season.

“Oh, a lot of times critics don’t know what they’re talking about and I don’t think they know much what they’re talking about on this one either,” Pittman said. “This is a fine Texas team. I mean, you don’t go beat Oklahoma by 31, and beat Mississippi State by 22, and beat Michigan by 19, beat Colorado State 52-0 and have a sorry football team.

“These guys are ranked No. 3 in the country because they deserve it and they’re a really well-coached football team. Coach Sarkisian is one of the best in the business, there’s no question about it, and they’ve got talent. It’s not their fault that they haven’t played, let’s say, a schedule like ours. We played LSU and Ole Miss and A&M and Tennessee. The schedule is the schedule, and what they’ve done is done a fine job with their schedule and they’ve got a good football team.”

Style points still matter in college football when it comes to playoff access. The Longhorns have been dominant defensively this fall beating opponents by an average of 26 points while ranking near the top of every statistical category.

It’s no fault of Texas that when schedule were announced two years ago, most of its current opponents fielded programs with a pulse. Arkansas, Mississippi State, Florida and Kentucky were competing at a higher level, but that’s not the case now with the rapid development of NIL, transfer portal and college football landscape.

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